A festival of the mind and heart

The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse

In perhaps one of the longest on-going debates ever, Anthony Horvath, Daniel Flecknoe, and Joe Shaw have been arguing over: the existence of God, morality, evolution, ‘science’, and, of course, politics. Beginning as an online debate c. 1998, despite living on opposite sides of the ocean, they have augmented their conversations with several ‘face to face’ meetings. At the 2018 Athanatos Fest they will meet again and continue the debate on stage, for the masses, under the hot lights. They are. The. Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

FEATURED FOR 2018

(A ‘fourth’ horseman, from Australia, may join us via Skype.)

THE FORMAT

2-3 panel discussions between the participants that features them dialoging with each other, with some opportunities for the audience to pose questions. At some point, Flecknoe might wield a guitar menacingly.

ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS

Anthony Horvath is the executive director of Athanatos Christian Ministries, the host of the Athanatos Fest. He earned his Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Philosophy, with an emphasis in Christian Apologetics. He has a bachelor’s degree in Pastoral Ministry from Concordia University, Wisconsin, with a minor in Biblical Languages. In 2006, he attended and completed the “International Academy of Apologetics, Evangelism, and Human Rights” in Strasbourg, France, under Dr. John Warwick Montgomery with Dr. Gary Habermas attending.

Early in his freshmen year of college, he went through an intense period of doubt and skepticism about his faith. Through this experience, he developed a passion for Christian apologetics and teaching. Along with his passion for apologetics, Anthony researches and exposes how tax dollars fund abortion, euthanasia, etc, and otherwise undermine liberty. A prolific author, he is married and the father of three boys and a girl.

Daniel Flecknoe is a human male of approximately 40 years of age, usually resident in the British Isles. He enjoys/hates (depending on his mood) cycling, writing, arguing and going to the gym. Playing guitar, public speaking and the company of friends, on the other hand, are always a joy.

Dan has an undergraduate degree in Philosophy, a Masters degree in public health and is an alumnus of the health & human rights programme at Harvard University. He worked as an emergency department nurse in the UK for ten years, using the skills he gained there to work and travel overseas. He’s seen a bit of the world – but would always like to see more – in various different professional roles; as an English teacher (Israel and the West Bank), an expedition medic (South East Asia), and as a medical team leader and public health specialist for Doctors Without Borders (Darfur & Iraq).

Back in the UK, Dan is the founder of a professional research/advocacy group focusing on the neglected public health impacts of armed conflict, and also teaches at the University of Sheffield. Brought up as a Methodist, he now identifies as an atheist, but doesn’t honestly think that’s the most interesting thing about him.

Joseph Shaw has an unhealthy obsession with baseball. Sure, he’s an author and playwright, covering topics from systems of morality and Theodicy to the relationship between Science and Religion to even progressivism as an economic and social basis of systemic oppression. And, yeah, he’s an international, award-winning speaker, having outlasted over 40,000 speakers from 126 countries to place in the top 30 in the 2016 Toastmasters International World Championship of Public Speaking.

But it’s the baseball, man. Everything always comes back to baseball with him. It doesn’t even make sense! He’s from Ohio. Those teams are professional much in the same way your neighbor kid is a “professional” actor because someone paid him $5 to play “Cop #4” in a YouTube rendition of Serpico. But ask him to talk about his Constitutionalist activism and, eventually, he’ll turn it around and try to convince you to vote for baseball players in the next election because none of the other candidates have a high enough on-base percentage. It’s weird. So watch out. I’m just sayin’. Here comes Joe.

You can reach him online at josepheshaw.com. You can reach him on Facebook and Twitter, too. Just listen for the screaming.

The Aussie. The Aussie is a blogger from Australia. He is an atheist. God willing, he’ll join his fellow horsemen on a stage in Wisconsin in August of 2018.